Ideas

Guide · Choosing your claim

When to Reposition a Brand: First Check Whether Competitors Took Your Promise

A position that has stopped landing has often been crowded by rivals saying the same thing, and that problem has a different fix than starting over.

Guide · Choosing your claim

Brand Beliefs vs Brand Values: Why Every Values List Looks the Same

Most brand values are words no competitor would argue with; a brand belief is a position one would reject, and that's what lets buyers tell you apart.

Guide · Who you're actually selling to

How to Create B2B Buyer Personas That Aren't Fiction

Build B2B buyer personas on one clear dividing rule, fill them from what real buyers said and did, and add the line a competitor's persona wouldn't have.

Guide · Positioning grounded in customer truth

Positioning, Personas, and Messaging: Why the Standard Assembly Line Fails

Most marketing teams treat positioning, personas, and messaging as a linear template exercise. This explains why your finished copy sounds like everyone else.

Guide · Who you're actually selling to

When No Vendor Stands Out, the B2B Buying Committee Falls Back on Four Things

A buying committee that can’t tell its shortlist apart goes with one person’s pick or the current vendor, then price, then the safest name, then a stall, and most of that is settled before sales gets a call.

Guide · Who you're actually selling to

Voice of Customer Research: How to Find the Words Your Competitors Don't Use

Most voice of customer research is built to fix the product. Here's how to use it to find the customer phrases your competitors' copy leaves out.

Guide · Who you're actually selling to

How to Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile From Who Actually Buys

The standard template gives you the same buyer as every competitor. Build your ideal customer profile from deals, reviews and case studies instead.

Guide · The differentiation audit

How to Run a Homepage Messaging Teardown, Line by Line

A messaging teardown is only useful if someone could argue with it. Here's the method, run on the HubSpot, Pipedrive and Attio homepages.

Guide · What ChatGPT says about your brand

Why Checking Your Brand Name in ChatGPT Is a Vanity Metric

Why querying your company name in AI platforms hides the real risk. Learn how unbranded category queries expose messaging convergence and how to track true visibility across generative systems like ChatGPT.